Blog Review: April 24

Rambus’ Steven Woo checks out changes in the hardware used for neural network training and the importance of co-design of hardware and software.

Cadence’s Meera Collier makes an argument for why vehicle sensors watching the driver could prevent some distraction and fatigue-related crashes.

Synopsys’ Dan Lyon and Garrett Sipple point to some best practices for how to deal with a changing threat landscape when it comes to security for medical devices.

Mentor’s Harry Foster gets ready for DAC by taking a look at research paper growth and diversity, plus highlights several scheduled sessions and discussions.

In a video, VLSI Research’s Dan Hutcheson chats with Carlos Mazure of the SOI Industry Consortium about what’s happened with SOI technology in the last two years and where it stands today.

Coventor’s Christine Dufour and X-FAB’s Viraja Sharma argue that collaboration is necessary for MEMS pressure sensors to continue achieving higher performance while decreasing package size and staying within process and cost limitations.

Applied Materials’ Shinsuke Mizuno and Vadim Kuchik explain a new eBeam technology that can quickly detect, image and measure critical defects buried within multiple layers of films.

SEMI’s Lara Chamness points out that 2018 was a great year for the semiconductor industry, with chip revenue reaching a new high of $469 billion and sales of manufacturing equipment up 14% year-over-year for a total of $64.5 billion in 2018.

Arm’s Hellen Norman argues that as more and more data is generated, processing and analytics at the edge using machine learning will become ever more important for both personal devices and industry.

Intel’s Jim Blakley digs into projects at Carnegie Mellon University aiming to alleviate issues with distributed video systems in cities where multiple stakeholders need access to a single video stream.

For more good reading, check out the blogs highlighted in last week’s Manufacturing, Packaging & Materials newsletter:

Editor In Chief Ed Sperling finds that accuracy is becoming a differentiator in everything from design through manufacturing.

Executive Editor Mark LaPedus reports that events in China and elsewhere are impacting the market for rare earths.

Brewer Science’s Tony Flaim describes polymer substrates that add interesting capabilities to printed electronics.

Applied Materials’ Gill Lee explains why key characteristics of three emerging memories make them well-suited for different applications.

Lam Research’s Steve Proia talks about the journey of silicon to its many uses.

SEMI’s Sungho Yoon questions whether the memory slowdown will continue, or whether a rebound is coming soon.

Coventor’s Michael Hargrove explains how each process step affects performance and function.